The NICE Guideline NG209 (Tobacco: preventing uptake, promoting quitting and treating dependence)

I am requesting information regarding Lincolnshire County Council's compliance with the NICE Guideline NG209
(Tobacco: preventing uptake, promoting quitting and treating dependence), specifically the mandatory requirements updated in February 2025.

The February 2025 update stipulates that local stop smoking services "must ensure" that a comprehensive range of evidence-based interventions are accessible to adults who smoke. This includes four primary pillars of cessation: behavioral support, medicinally licensed products (including Cytisinicline), nicotine-containing e-cigarettes, and specific cost-effective behavioral programs.
​In light of these mandatory "must" requirements, please provide the following:

1) ​Service Accessibility Audit: Please provide any internal audit or compliance report conducted following the February 2025 update to ensure the Council is meeting its mandatory obligation to provide a full range of accessible cessation methods.

2) ​Evidence for Exclusion of ACE: NICE recommendation 1.12.10 specifically identifies Allen Carr's Easyway (ACE) in-person group seminars as a cost-effective behavioral intervention. Given the Council's mandate to "must ensure" accessible behavioral support, please provide the evidence-based justification for excluding the ACE method from your current service menu.

3) ​Comparison of Behavioral Options: Please provide any recorded information held by the Council that compares the quit-success rates and cost-effectiveness of your currently commissioned behavioral support providers against the data for Allen Carr's Easyway as cited in the NICE NG209 evidence reviews.

4) ​Commissioning Gap Analysis: Please provide any documentation showing how the Council has addressed the "must" requirement for choice and accessibility if only one form of behavioral support (e.g., 1-on-1 coaching) is currently offered to the exclusion of group-based seminars like ACE.

5) ​Future Procurement Timelines: If the current exclusion of ACE is due to existing contract cycles, please provide the date when the smoking cessation service contract is next due for tender and whether the 2025 NICE "must" requirements have been integrated into the new specification.

1. An audit is not available from the period stated.

2. Use of Allen Carr's Easyway (ACE) as a behavioural support tool has not been excluded.

3. Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) does not hold any recorded information that directly compares the two. The service is performing above expected targets and is among the highest performing services in both the region and nationally. Quit rate data can be accessed via Fingertips.

4. LCC commission an outcomes-based service specification aligned to NICE guidelines, and does not specify a particular behavioural programme. Both 1:1 and group behavioural support are available.

5. Procurement for a new Stop Smoking Service is expected to commence in September 2026. It is anticipated that the service specification will not exclude any behavioural support initiatives. Service delivery is expected to begin in April 2027.